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Snowball Cookies – My Favorite Holiday Cookies

By 118 Comments

There’s nothing like the smell and taste of freshly baked cookies, and these snowball cookies are a must make for the holidays…. and for pretty much any other occasion.  😉

The key to these delightful cookies is the powdered sugar. They’re rolled not once, but twice in powdered sugar, and believe me, that makes all the difference. They’re amazing!

Snowball cookies

Snowball Cookies

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Snowball Cookies - My Favorite Holiday Cookies

Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 2 dozen
Author Liz Mays

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp McCormick pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts optional, but recommended

Instructions

  1. Mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla thoroughly.
  2. Stir flour and salt together; blend in. If adding nuts, mix those in as well.
  3. Roll dough in 1-inch balls, and place on ungreased baking sheet.
  4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 400 degrees, or until set but not brown.
  5. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely, and then roll in powdered sugar again.

Snowball Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. They go fast, so I usually make two batches at a time. Enjoy!

 

About Liz

Liz is a midwestern mom gone southern (accent in transition). She lives in North Carolina and loves cooking, baking, traveling, movies, crafts, hot and cold tea, wine, pizza and the occasional nap. She also revels in the fact she's a crazy cat lady.

Comments

  5. Nadia says

    I make a variation of these (no powdered sugar in the mix) that I know as Mexian Wedding Cookies. As I’m making them in a warmer climate, I chill the dough a bit before rolling and because I do use pecans, I really knead the dough so the flour and butter are distributed. Also, don’t be tempted to overbake them. I take them out when they are slightly golden but bake them at 350 for 15 minutes. They are delicious.

    Reply

  6. Samantha says

    I’m a little disappointed in this recipe. I just made them for Christmas Eve dessert, thought they’d be a nice touch since there isn’t any snow here right now. The cookie crumbled apart. After cooked it just would not stay together and I ended up throwing the last bit of the dough out. I was not happy with the taste. I was expecting them to be excellent, and they were subpar… I felt like I missed an ingredient, and continuously checked, but didn’t miss a thing. They were an okay cookie, I’m not sure I would do them again. I must say though, adding the nut definitely made it better… pecans! Thanks for the recipe anyway. Do you possibly know what happened to my cookies? Maybe I prepared them incorrectly?

    Reply

    • Blueviolet says

      I’m so sorry that they didn’t come out right for you. I’ve actually never had them crumble like that before, and I’m just not sure what might have caused that to happen. I usually take them out of the oven, when I see they have a slight golden color and are set. I do need to handle them gently, and I put them on the cooling rack for about 5-10 minutes before I roll them for the first time. Most people do like them with the nuts, as it adds quite a bit of flavor, but I wanted to make sure that people knew they could be made with or without.

      Reply

    • Leslie says

      I think the secret is letting them set for a few minutes after baking and handling them gently, like Blueviolet said. The first time I made these cookies, I immediately put them in the sugar, and a bunch of them crumbled on me, but the second time I tried Blueviolet’s idea, and it worked really well. I hope you get the same result, if you decide to try again. :o)

      Reply

  8. Isabella says

    these are in my oven right now! i had to try them. hopefully they’ll turn out good. i’m making them for a christmas dinner with my friends along with a chocolate cheesecake with oreo crust.. yum!

    Reply

  10. Keri says

    Thanks for the recipe! I’m starting finals week and needed something to get me through – and I had all the ingredients for this on hand! They’re cooling now and they smell great! I probably made them too big, I got less than 2 dozen from the recipe – but they’re really quick and easy to make. It’s also really good (and eggless) dough, so I probably won’t always bake them. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    • Blueviolet says

      I make them myself without the nuts, and they’re absolutely delicious. I’m not a big nut fan either. If you added anything, you’d want it to be very finely chopped. But try them without anything first, and you may find that you like them well enough that way anyhow! 😉 Then you could experiment.

      Reply

  18. Michelle says

    My family makes these every year. . .though they’ve always been known as “Russian Tea Cakes”. They are amazing with a cup of tea or coffee!

    Reply

  22. Tara Woods says

    These are some of my favorite cookies. I have always called them pecan meltaways or Mexican wedding cookies. They are much cheaper to make than ordering from a store.

    Reply

  23. secret agent woman says

    My stepmother used to make these but she called them something else – I’m blanking on the name. They were good, though,

    Reply

  28. Karen Klein says

    Holy crap! Thanks so much for posting this recipe! I looove these cookies and I could never find a recipe for them-you saved the day!

    Reply

  30. James says

    Love these! These are very popular in Brunei! If i am not mistaken, it is also called ‘Kueh Mor’. Especially during Eid, they usually serve these as one of their treats for the guests. I don’t know about the taste but it has quite similar ingredients. I am definitely gonna give this a try soon!

    Reply

  48. Rachel says

    I LOVE these cookies! My grandmother used to make them, she used walnuts in hers. She called them Nutballs! I like the name you use for these too! Sooo good!

    Reply

  52. drollgirl says

    ’tis the season for stretch pants! wait! it is ALWAYS the season for stretch pants!

    i have been telling myself that i should diet all this month and then pork out for the holiday. we’ll see how long this strategy holds, particularly with cookie offerings/recipes like this one tempting me left and right!

    Reply

    • Andrea says

      I am making them right now after seeing them and I just told my husband that I really think they should be called butterballs. And I reduced *a little bit, I almost halved, but it wasn’t working for the dough* the amount of butter! Too funny.

      Reply

  57. Shelly Peterson says

    I love these cookies! If made right, not over cooked, they melt in your mouth. We have these every Christmas since I was a kid

    Reply

  64. Lisa @ Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy says

    can I leave my address to get some of those? 🙂
    my mom used to make those and they are soooo yummy.

    Reply

  67. Ally says

    You know, for as long as my grandma made these cookies growing up, I guess I never made them with her – I didn’t realize there was no egg in the recipe – which of course, is why that have that yummy texture!!!

    Reply

  69. quirkyloon says

    cue Twilight Zone movie.

    I kid you not! I just made 8 dozen of these cookies yesterday! Yowza! hee hee. I’m participating in a cookie exchange and I know them as Mexican Wedding Cookies. And I shaped mine into crescents. But you are correct madam, they are DELISH and they go way too fast.

    Yummo!

    Reply

  76. Jackie says

    I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these cookies!! I even like the ones you can get in the store…. of course they’re not as good as the homemade ones but I’ll take it!

    Reply

  83. Debra B says

    Oh Wow these are one of my favorites as well, I remember my mom used to make these every Christmas along with Kieflies (sp) which I believe are a crescent shaped (yeast) dough with a walnut filling then rolled in powdered sugar too, all Christmas cookies would disappear so quickly it was hard to keep a few for the holidays, After I got married and started my own family I would make them for Christmas, but I havent made either of them in awhile now that you’ve provided the recipe for Snowball cookies I plan to make them very, very soon besides they are so easy.

    Thanks for the recipe and inspiration
    Happy Holidays 🙂

    Reply

  88. Ms. A says

    My Aunt used to make these, along with fudge and divinity and put them in tins for Christmas gifts! I looked forward to getting them!

    I just might be able to make these. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  97. Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says

    I have been making these for years and our whole family loves them!! They are some of my all time favorite cookies. I always make them around the holidays but sometimes I make them just because they are so delicious but I have to watch out or I will eat to many of them!!

    Reply

  105. Anna ~ Random Handprints says

    oh holiday cookies, how i love them. these look so good.

    i make gingerbread bussiness-men (and women) every year and dress them in little suits for my husband to take to work. i hear they are something of the office traditon by now, but the first year he was mortified – but we were just married so he had to bring them.

    Reply

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